TravelStream™ news feed for member sarahanddermot on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/sarahanddermot en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:21:14 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1213739760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1213739760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1213739760/tpod.html Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:21:14 -0400 Our adventure

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Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Hi all greetings from Rio de Janeiro,We got off to an event full start with an hour long check-in in Dublin, a two hour delay leaving the Emerald Isle shores due to Mr.Bush causing a problem in Heathrow. After that we figured nothing else could go wrong!! well we were wrong about that. The plane journey was very smooth and went very quickly for me as I slept but not for Sarah and we were accompanied by a weird Brazilian woman next to us on the plane but all things considered we were buzzing...until we found out our bags had not been put on the plane and their was no record of them after the Aerlingus check-in. So much for the miraculous medals attached to the bags! I had a complete sense of humour failure and was asked by a very friendly BA employee "Do not worry Mr. Bruton". Eventually after giving us two 35pound credit cards each and promising us that the bags would eventually show up and that they would forward them to us in the hostel we left for Copacabana. The hostel we are staying at is excellently located in Copacabana a 5min walk from the beach the name is Mellow Yellow and the bar and food there is very good. Next morning we received confirmation from home and the hostel that the bags had been located and would be arriving to the hostel at 4pmish so things wer looking up again.   We decided to visit the Sugar Loaf Mountain which you can climb by cable-car. Weather was class and the views amazing. We took some good photos up until I (Dermot) decided to drop kick the camera onto hard ground and killed the camera ( Rob if you get this can you send Sarah a new camera). 18/6/08Went to see Christ the Redeemer statue, it is magnificent!! took the cog train up the hill to it, the train was easily at an incline of 40 to 45 degrees which was impressive. The views from up top were amazing you can see in some of the photos. We stayed up there for a couple of hours to catch the sunset and the lights being turned on in the city and on the statue. Later we took a taxi to Ipanema beach and had dinner in an all-you-can-eat restaurant for 9euro followed by a trip to the Irish bar Shenanigans- we were the only Irish there but the place was electric for the Brazilian Argentina world cup qualifier.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1243680600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1243680600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1243680600/tpod.html Sat, 30 May 2009 06:55:36 -0400 Our adventure

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Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India

We spent two nights here and accomplished a major achievement here ----- We swam in the Ganges!!!! We're just as good as Charlie Bird.We also went to see the remains of where the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram was. The Beatles stayed here and wrote much of the White Album there.We then took the long journey by bus and train to Delhi our last port of call :o(
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1243679820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1243679820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1243679820/tpod.html Sat, 30 May 2009 06:50:29 -0400 Our adventure

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Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India

Manali is a nice relaxing spot but again too hippyish for us. The highlights of this place for us have been 1. The chocolate chip cookies in the Toasted and Roasted cafe while watching movies there during the day!2. Going to the Hadimba Temple and dressing up in the local traditional gear and getting our pictures taken with the Angora rabbits!3. Meeting the 3 Irish and hanging with them 4. The Lamb and mint sauce in Johnson's CafeFrom here we headed to Chandigarh
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1243334700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1243334700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1243334700/tpod.html Sat, 30 May 2009 06:49:48 -0400 Our adventure

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Chandigarh, India

We only ended up staying in Chandigarh to break up the journey to Rishikesh so we stayed only one night but this town look nice and is very clean compared to most places in India. We visited the Nek Chand FAntasy Rock Garden which is the second most visited site in India after the Taj. This place was class all made from recycled materials and looks like something out of Alice in Wonderland meets the Stone age.We got the 2pm train to Haridwar and then a bus onto Rishikesh
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1242908160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1242908160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1242908160/tpod.html Sun, 24 May 2009 08:45:46 -0400 Our adventure

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McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India

The journey from Amritser to McLeod Ganj was one for the record books!We initially got a train to Patankhot which went smoothly. We were sitting beside an aussie for the 3 hours and it trurned out he visited Ireland a few years ago and stayed in Westmeath in a town called Castlepollard in a castle called Tullynally Castle - which is about 1 mile from where I'm from so small world!After we got to Patankhot we had to wait for a few hours at the bus station to get the 9pm bus to Dharamsala. We got a load of stares from the locals and had our pictures taken with whole families. An Indian guy named Rummy came up to us and asked could he talk to us for a while and we said yes. Turns out he was a Lieutenant in the Indian Army and he was from McLeod Ganj but was on his way to be stationed up near the Pakistan Border. We got talking and he showed us the picture of his new wife who he described as "A heavy fat woman ", He insisted we go meet her when we got to McLeod Ganj and we said we would.  He was a nice lad and after leaving him we got the bus.The bus should have taken about 3 hours but after 2 hours the bus crashed into a car that was driving on the wrong side of the road and we ended up having to wait another 3 hours for the police to come and take reports and so on.We arrived in Dharamsala at about 3am ish and the place was dead as a doornail. Only the taxis going to McLeod Ganj were operating. Our hotel in McLeod Ganj was closed on arrival in McLeod Ganj so we ended up walking the streets to find somewhere open to take us. A few mins later a car pulled up beside us and 3 Indian guys asked us what we were doing so we told them we were looking for accommodation. As it turns out the guys were also Indian Army and the driver was a Major. They told us that nothing around here was open at this hour but they knew of a place about 2km away that would be so they offered us a lift and when we got to Bhagsu the guys carried our bags up the hill for us as the hill was too steep for cars. We got sorted for a room and thanked the guys and hit the hay.Bhagsu is a nice place but all the tourists are hippies - ALL!we signed up for a Silver Jewellry making class which was over 3 days and which turned out to be really fun and we were actually qite good at it.We visited Rummys wife and she was glad to see us as her husband had rang her numerous times and asked had his Irisah friends called yet.We visited the Tibetan Givernment in Exile's offices and tryed to see the Dalai Lama but he didn't come out to offer us tea. We enjoyed our time in McLeod Ganj even though we stuck out for not looking Hippyish enough.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1242550080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1242550080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1242550080/tpod.html Fri, 15 May 2009 04:58:35 -0400 Our adventure

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Amritsar, Punjab, India

Our train to Amritser was not direct so in Jalandar train station we met this Indian lad of 22 who was just finishing his landscape architure degree and stayed talking to us while we waited the hour for the train.   When we arrived in Amritser he got us an autorickshaw and refused to let us pay for it which was really nice and restored our faith in Indian people again. He offered to drive us around the city to see the sights in the evenings when he finished college and we intended on taking him up on the offer but that night was the first of many that I grey very ill. On the second evening i went to a local doctor and we gave me some antibiotic and paracetemol for to take down the fever but by the next day i was getting worse and the headache was unbearable. we found a hospital in the Lonely PLanet and went straight there, they took blood tests and ruled out Malaria,typhoid and Dengue and with my white blood cell count derived i had an infection of some sort so gave me a new perscription and by the end of day 3 things began looking up with the headache recinding and eventually going that night. Sarah was excellent looking after me and the amount of phone calls from home and Sarah's home as well as Sarah's aunts in Chicago who are nurses who between them rang 6 times was well appreciated.Hopefully we will be able to return to see the Golden Temple tomorrow morning and then go see the Indian Pakistan border closing ceremony which is supposed to be hillarious.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1242031380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1242031380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1242031380/tpod.html Fri, 15 May 2009 04:47:42 -0400 Our adventure

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Bikaner, Rajasthan, India

Glad to be out of Jaipur we headed to the city of Bikaner, which is fasous for Karni Matta Temple - otherwise known as the rat temple where the locals come and worship the rats who they consider to be the reincarntion of their ancesters. Newly married couples come here and eat food that has been nibbled by the rats!!! needless to say we didn't take part in that aspect but we did walk around and inside the temple with hundreds of rats walking all around the place freely - and you can't wear shoes!That night we got the 2am train to Amritser
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1241858100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1241858100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1241858100/tpod.html Fri, 15 May 2009 04:42:35 -0400 Our adventure

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Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

We took the overnight train to Jaipur and having found it difficult to find accomodation we eventually had to increase our budget and splash out on a nice place.We spent 2nights here and the town did not impress us much firstly with the expense of getting into museums and sights the cost was ten times the price for westerners and also outside the city museum Sarah was molested by a n Indian guy as he cycled by on a bike. I was only 10 paces ahead but by the time i figured out what happened he had cycled off the dirty little pervert! we were eager to leave after that.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1240402920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1240402920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1240402920/tpod.html Fri, 08 May 2009 08:33:58 -0400 Our adventure

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Namche Bazar, West Bengal, Nepal

Day 1.We left Hotel Nana early and took a taxi to the airport to join the rest of the trekkers heading to Lukla. The airport was a nightmare, total caos with what looked like everyone skipping the queue so we did the same. The checkin desk wouldn't let us checkin and kept telling us to wait but it soon became obvious that the Lukla flights were not departing and word spread that the weather was bad in Lukla and only the first flight got through. We ended up waiting in the Airport from 6am till about noon and then the airlines announced that flights for the day would be cancelled.We returned to Kathmandu dejected and exhausted as the adrenaline had worn off, we bumped into Matthew , Mary Claire, James, Jessica and Art and the expressions on our faces said it all.We had an early night and prayed for good weather in Lukla for the following day.Day 1 Again!Got to the airport early and after a bit of wiating the checkin counter opened Yipee!Again after check-in there was another half hour delay but then we were whisked off to the plane by bus and the planes for Lukla took off like something out of Band of Brothers - a whole convoy of planes leaving the runway at the same time.The flight was by far the dodgiest flight we've ever been on, the plane was a twin prop 20 seater but the winds made it hop around alot after take off. Around 40mins in the engines seemed to stall but as it turned out this was how they choose to land at Lukla. Lukla airstrip is a sloped strip of macadam on the side of a mountain with a stone Gabian wall at the end of the short runway! the landing was priceles. Lukla is at 2800m and once we arrived we went to the Buddah Lodge to get our porter "Bagtha". We started our trek at noon and headed to Phakding, passing some Sherpa villages and farms, following the Dudhkoshi River and further down to Phakding. We reached Phakding 2and a half hours later and that was our trekking for the day. That night Sarah tried to convince me to go Vegetarian but I refused she had the Veg Curry and I had the Yak meat curry - yet she was the one who got sick! Sarah spent the whole night getting sick and not a bit of sleep.Day 2. Today we trekked from Phakding to Namche Bazaar (6 1/2 Hours). Sarah couldn't eat anything so she trekked all day on an empty stomach and even though she must have felt like crap she never complained and the pace she set astonished even me, we passed alot of people this morning.The trek consisted of mostly flat ground and crossing bridges until we reached Monjo where the lunch stop was just before the entrance to the Sagarmtha National Park. The walk from Monjo to the bridge over the Imjatse river was mostly downhill and easy but then the tough trekking started all uphill the rest of the way to Namche (3440m). Though the walk was tough we had magnificient views Kwangde peak, also Lhotse and supposibly Everest but we couldn't see it. We arrived in Namche exhausted but glad to get there. The town is so scenic see attached photos later. We checked into the Camp de Base Hotel and flaked out for the rest of the day.Day3. 1st Acclimitisation Day.Today we stayed in Namche to Acclimitise but we still went trekking up to the airstrip on the hill which is about 400m higher than Namche and we also went to the Sherpa museum and the military barracks.Day4. Namche to Dole (7Hours -Long Day!)This morning we woke to a blanket of snow covering the whole area, after breakfast we set out for Dole  and after a half hour or so we got our first clear views of Everest albeit very far away . It really brought home the satisfaction of being here though! We're the first Bruton and McGarrigle to see Everest in person - so we're kinda as good as Hillary! Today's trekking was long and tough, especially after Monjo where we had lunch , and very frustrating because you ascended 500m to go down 600m then back up 400  then down again and so on but at last we reached Dole. This place was the first of many places after this that we had to sleep in our Down jackets. We met an Australian guy named Garth from Victoria who we ended up hanging out with for the next couple of days, playing cards and Dice. We also met these 4 Indians guys from Bangalore who at first to us seemed really paranoid about altitude sickness and were getting their guides to check their blood pressures and one guy started takin oxygen. We were only at 3800m! - But Gartth told us the following day that these guys two days previous found a trekker dead in the toilets of one of the lodges - the trekker was in his 30s and died of HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema - Fluid build up in the lungs. He had come from Gokyo and was not feeling well, his porter had tried to convince him to go to the doctor but he refused and only wanted to go to bed and died that night. It was really terrible)Day5. Dole to Machermo (Easy day 3 hours long Altitude 4200m)The walk from Dole to Machermo was nice but we both struggled with the altitude, I had a headache coming on and was struggiling for breath, Sarah just found her feet felt like lead and slight pressure on her haed. When we arrived in Machermo I started the course of Diamox, Sarah had started in Namche.At 3pm every day in Machermo there is a free talk on altitude sickness given by a NGO volunteer doctor, we attended and learned alot about being aware of the dangers and being able to spot the early signs. We also increased our dosage of Diamox as you need one tablet twice a day to prevent AMS. The accomodation in Machermo was much nicer than that the previous night in Dole. After plenty of card games and games of dice we settled in for the night.  Day6. Machermo to Gokyo (3 Hours Alt. 4700m)The walk from Machermo to Gokyo was short but tough especially going through the moraine of the Glacier. When we arrived at the first of the Gokyo Lakes, Sarah started running around the place taking photos only to find that at altitude you can't do anything quickly, within seconds she was out of breath and gasping for air. From then on we did everything slowly, even going to the toilet left you winded afterwards.We arrived in Gokyo and Bagtha as usual found us our accomodation, the best in the town from what we heard. Garth's porter had checked him into a different place but when he saw our place he changed to join us - our place had better blankets! We had bought books in Kathmandu thinking that these would do us for the entire trek but the day we spent in the airport saw us get through most of the books, so in Gokyo there was a book shop and we stocked up there, I got War and Peace and that bad boy will keep me going for a while, Sarah got the Kite Runner. The rest of the day was relaxation so we got to starting on our books.Day7. 2nd Acclimitisation Day (Climbed Gokyo Ri, Altitude5360m)This morning we climbed Gokyo Ri starting at 6am, it was a very tough walk at a very slow pace. It took 2hours 40mins up and an hour down in total. The views from Gokyo Ri of the Himalayias, of Everest, the Gokyo Lakes, the Ngozumba Glacier were excellent. There were aload of people at the summit when we got up there, some were there for sunrise but the view was better at around 9am as the sun was high enough in the sky for clear photos of Everest. By the time we were coming down the clouds were forming around the peaks and the low areas and the view was diminishing. Just like every day up here in the morning there are perfect clear skies but by 12-2pm the cloud comes in and it's all overcast.We met another Westmeath man up to on Gokyo Ri, Alan Carroll , a year younger than me from Gaynstown - he used to teach in St. Mary's CBS before he went travelling. Also we met an Israli girl who had just come over the Cho La Pass, we met the girls mother 3 days earlier in Dole and they had planned to meet in Gokyo.When we got back down we had breakfast and rested for the rest of the day. There was a large Aussie group staying in the lodge and they were part of a package tour, we were very envious of their tour as they had food that was not on the regular menus! but they were very nice and shared their afternoon biscuits with us mere independent trekkers.That night was the first time we realised that I have an invincible stomach! GArth had ordered a plate of chips which tough looking cooked on the outside were infact semi raw inside, He had 2 chips, I had one and we both agreed they were bad so he told the woman of the house that they were bad and when she offered to replaced them he said no as it was now quite late. The plate of chips were left on the table so Garth offered them to the porters who didn't seem to find them bad at all. A half hour later they came out with a second plate of chips! That night Garth was really sick, again I was fine.The next morning when we were due to check out they brought the bill to Garth and charged him for 2 plates of chips which he hadn't eaten, when he refused to pay the woman of the house went into a fit and was reigning down curses and bad luck on him.Day8. Gokyo to Taknag (2 1/2 Hours Alt. 4800m)Today was very short trekking, we back tracked for the first half hour to the second Gokyo lake then we crossed the Ngozumba Glacier meeting some female Thai trekkers and a big bunch of Kiwi's. The lodge in Taknag was an absolute ripoff with totally inflated prices because of supply and demand. we rested here for the rest of the day before our very early start on the Cho La Pass the next day. Day9 Taknag to Dzongla (Via the Cho La Pass Altitude 5368m, 7 1/2Hours)Today we started trekking at 6.30am, The firest 4 hours seemed to go really quickly and din't feel so tough but then the last little bit to the pass was quite tough. There were a fw other people doing the journey in the same direction as us, there was an American called Christian and a French woman who was about 50 but put us to shame with the pace she set. The really tough part was actually after the pass on the way down crossing the glacier, unlike the galcier the previous day this one had a layer of deep snow over compacted ice and since we didn't have crampons we were slipping and sliding on our asses alot, i vowed to get even with the guy in Shona's Alpine Rentals in Kathmandu who told us we didn't need carmpons - oh how wrong he was! The last hour really dragged as we had no energy left and even though we had a packed lunch with us we felt bad for our porter who had no food so we struggled on until we reached Dzongla. The accomodation here buts the word basic in perspective! See photos of the only toilet We were exhausted and slept most of the afternoon and went back to bed after dinner.Day10. Dzongla to Labouche (4Hour, Altitude 4700m)Still tired from the previous day we started trekking at around 8am, but to our surprise we found today quite easy even at 4900m! it was mostly flat which for Nepal is impressive. Before we reached Labouche we rejoined the main trail to Everest Base camp and the sudden increase of trekkers was very evident. Labouche town itself was quite nice and having a toilet in the same building in which we slept was nice again - oh what luxury!We met a sound Malaysian trekker Imran from KL and we told him about our great Malaysian experience, it seems we've been around Malaysia more than him. Day 11. Labouche to Gorak Shep (3Hours, Altitude 4950m)The walk to Gorak shep was a nice one most of the was but crossing over the glacier maoraines was tough and exhausting. We got our first views of Everest Base camp in the distance. You can't actually see Mt. Everest at all on the way to Gorak Shep as it is blocked by Nuptse. Our porter had expressed concern about a shortage of accomodation so we had left early to get to Gorak Shep but when we arrived they had no rooms available, we were going to have to sleep on the floor of the restaurant with all the porters! After talking to the manager we found out that if we waited till after 12 midday then and reservations that had not been filled would be available it but us a bit more at ease. It was about 10am when we arrived in Gorak Shep and the skies were clear so we decided that after a cup of tea we would climb Kala Patar (Alt. 5545m) that morning to get our views of Everest. Off we set, this was by far the toughest climb we did i thought, the whole time we were climbing we were praying for the clouds to stay away long enough for us to get good photos. We met loads of people coming down from Kala Patar as we were going up, and they all said the same annoying thing "Keep going you'll get there the views are amazing" - now we thought they were all so smug cause they got the good photos. An hour and a half later we made it and the views were fantastic, this was what it was all about.   The guy Christian from the Cho La pass was up there and we spent alot of time up there until the weather suddenly changed and got really cold. We actually decended the whole way wearing our down jackets. Again we met loads of people on their way up so we became the smug gits and siad "Keep going you'll get there the views are amazing" !When we returned to Gorak Shep the manager of the lodge was all happy as he was able to get Sarah a bed in a room sharing with an English girl, we asked could it be possible to have the two of us share the single bed and the girl (Azedeh) agreed so we had a bed for the night. We met with the other people Azedeh was travelling with, a group of four Malaysian men and she even though English was of Iranian decent we found out. Turns out these guys are the slowest trekkers in the world but a sound bunch.Day 12. Gorak Shep to Everest Base Camp (EBC Altitude 5330m) to Gorak Shep The round trip to EBC takes about 6 hours, we set out at 7am and made our way there in just under the 3 hour mark. There is no view of Everest from Base camp but there is along the route to base camp. When we arrived at Base Camp the first thing we did was go straight to the Everest Base Camp Bakery for a slice of the infamous Highest Applepie in the world - it was divine! After the pie we went a wandering around Base Camp to try and find the Irish expedition and we found it! There are 3 Irish people going summiting in the end of May, the guy who owns the company Gavin from Belfast/Australia/South Africa, a guy named Mark or Gary (can't remember) from outside Drogheda and a girl Helen from Arklow originallly. We spent some time with them and they went through the training routine and stuff with us and after wishing them well we set off back to Gorak Shep. We got back at about 3pm and we were all delighted with ourselves for completing a major goal of ours that we had been talking about for years, and things should have stayed all happy but disaster struck! The camera case that had been in my pocket all day was gone and in the case was our previous memory card with almost 2000 photos from Darjeeling, Calcutta, Mumbai and Siem Reap as well as day 1, 2 and 3 of the trek.Our first reaction was to freak out and then to retrace our steps to find it. We told the porter what had happened mainly to let him know that we were going back ourselves to look for it but instead he came with us. We asked everyone on the trail we met but noone seemed to see the case.We all got seperated, Sarah at the back scrutinising the ground around bunches of boulders the porter and I ahead but eventually the porter was going too fast for me so he went on ahead.  I met the Aussie group from Gokyo and pleaded with them when they came across Sarah  to make her turn back as the sun was setting and it wouldn't be safe. It wasn't till i somehow wandered off the beaten track and had to scramble over dangerous boulders did i realise that something might happen to Sarah so I turned back. We eventually found each other, she had ignored the Aussies and came looking for me. We now started worring about our porter as there was no sign of him and the it was getting dark. We returned to Gorak Shep and notified the manager who tried to put us at ease saying that Nepali porters can walk the route both day and night but that if he didn't return by 6.30om they would send a search party. 6.30 came and went and by now it was dark night the manager was starting to organise a search party  when suddenly Bagtha appeared at the door. We were so releaved, we had put a man's life at risk for some photographs! Day13 Gorak Shep to DingboucheWe started out trek down from Gorak Shep to Dingbouche early and with a stop off for lunch we got to Dingbouche after about 5 hours. On the way down we passed an England cricket team who werer goiung playing a cricket test game at Gorak Shep against a NeweZealand team the following day - the highest test cricket game in the world.But all day long we were very gloomy over the loss of the photos. Dingbouche is a nice town and the place in which we stayed we were the only guests so in was us the porter and granny and grandad Dingbouche sitting around the fire that night playing cards until it was time for bed.Day 14 Dingbouche to TengboucheSet out at 8am, annoyance about the photos still there but lessoning a bit. It was a pleasant walk at start mostly downhill until that tough section just before we reached Tengbouche. After we settled into our accomodation we visited the Buddhist monastry and were present for the afternoon praying ceremony. Tengbouche although alot lower in elevation was in fact quite cold at night.Day15 Tengbouche to Namche BazaarThe walk today took forever! we had no motivation and with the constant ups and downs the day really dragged. About 1Km outside of Namche I retwisted me right ankle again for the third time in a year but thanks to the trekking boots it wasn't as bad as previous times. We gotr to Namche by lunch time and the lodge we stayed in previously was fully booked so we stayed in the Buddha lodge which was basic but nice. Day 16 Namche Bazaar to LuklaToday's walk took 7 and a half hours but the time went quickly as we were quite motivated for getting off the mountain and back to the civilised world! We managed to retake some of the photos lost from day 1 and 2 of the trek and had lunch in Phakding again.On arriving back in Lukla we checked into the Buddha Lodge confirmed our tickets for the next days flight and went to the Irish Bar! Yes even here in Lukla they have one all beit with prayer wheels outside and U2 playing in the background. We kept bumping into the trekkers we had met along the trek and they all had the happy faces of being finished as did we.Next morning after breakfast the guy from the lodge came with us to the airport (60m away from the lodge) and we got to bypass the queues and check-in straight away. Our flight came pretty much on time and we took off heading back to Kathmandu. We met up with the gang back in Kathmandu and went for a proper steak dinner in the OIrish owned restaurant Ktwo. It was divine! We spent one more day in Kathmandu shopping and then took the bus to Pokara. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1241694540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1241694540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahanddermot/1/1241694540/tpod.html Fri, 08 May 2009 08:12:29 -0400 Our adventure

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Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

5th MayArrived early in Udaipur and settled into the Anjani Hotel which is a lovely place. We went for breakfast on the rooftop restaurant overlooking the lake and the city. There were 3 other people having breakfast two english girls and an irish guy  Garath who as it turns out was in Science  in UCD with Sarah and she had been to a house party in his house 8 years ago -- small world!! After chilling out for the morning we went and booked our Indian cooking class for that afternoon in Hotel Krishna Niwas. The cooking course was excellent we learned how to make Chapatti and nan,
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